The inventive concepts presented relate to a semiconductor integrated circuit (IC), and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for ensuring the reliability of an IC by controlling a reliability aging timer according to a lifetime demanded by a customer.
Due to the development of semiconductor manufacturing technologies, various circuit devices such as metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors are formed in ICs. ICs are used in customer electronics and are required to provide optimum operational performance in various application uses. The reliability of the ICs has to satisfy a reliability minimum requirement to ensure the performance of the ICs during a predetermined minimum period. An IC that does not satisfy the reliability minimum requirement is determined to be a defective IC during a test process of a production stage, and an IC having an insufficient reliability margin is sold at a low price, thereby reducing yield. The lifetime of an IC may vary depending on the demands of individual customers. If a reliability minimum condition and/or a reliability margin are changed according to the lifetime of an IC, IC productivity may be improved.